Smart Choices - Healthy Food and Drink Supply Strategy for ...

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Smart Choices In recent years, levels of overweight and obesity in children and young people have increased dramatically – now around a quarter of our children are overweight or obese. This is a serious issue as overweight and obesity carry a greater risk of a number of immediate and long-term health and psychosocial problems. Excess weight gain in children is usually a result of excess energy intake (kilojoules or calories) through eating too much food or the wrong type of food, combined with doing too little physical activity or being inactive for too much of the day. Food and drinks consumed by children also affect oral (dental) health and contribute to the high rates of tooth decay in Queensland children. The development of a strategy to address the nutritional value of food and drinks supplied at school or school activities was identified as an action in the Queensland Health and Education Queensland Joint Work Plan 2004–2007. The Healthy Food and Drink Supply Strategy for Queensland Schools is all about offering healthy food and drink choices to students in Queensland schools. School food and drink supply includes all situations where food is supplied in the school environment – tuckshops, vending machines, school excursions, school camps, fundraising, classroom rewards, school events such as celebrations and sports days, and food used in curriculum activities. The Healthy Food and Drink Supply Strategy for Queensland Schools reflects the Australian Dietary Guidelines for Children and Adolescents and The Australian Guide to Healthy Eating (AGTHE). Information is provided about the following areas: the nutritional value of foods the most appropriate (and healthiest) food choices the nutrient criteria for identifying foods and drinks that need to be restricted. To support the implementation of the strategy a Smart Choices resource package has been produced which comprises: Healthy Food and Drink Supply Strategy for Queensland Schools including the Food and Drink Selector Food and Drink Spectrum poster CD-ROM containing a copy of the strategy, which includes the Food and Drink Selector, ‘Occasional’ Food and Drink Criteria table, Food and Drink Spectrum and a presentation for use by schools and Parents and Citizens Associations. The Smart Choices – Food and Drink Selector offers a new way of determining which food and drinks are able to be supplied in schools. Making selections can be a very challenging task. There are many potential food and drink items that could be supplied in schools. The information provided in this strategy will help to make this task easier. The role of schools Schools have an important role in promoting healthy eating and physical activity to students and providing an environment that supports a healthy lifestyle. A healthy diet can improve behaviours critical to educational success and performance at school. Effective school-based nutrition and health interventions can also help improve academic performance. Tuckshops are an important part of the school environment; they can model healthy food and drink choices that are tasty, interesting and affordable, and provide the means to put into practice nutrition messages taught in the classroom. Background The Healthy Food and Drink Supply Strategy for Queensland Schools is based on the Australian Dietary Guidelines for Children and Adolescents (2003) and The Australian Guide to Healthy Eating (AGTHE). Australian Dietary Guidelines for Children and Adolescents The Australian Dietary Guidelines for Children and Adolescents (2003) were developed by the National Health and Medical Research Council as a useful tool to promote healthy eating patterns. They are based on the best scientific evidence available and current knowledge about what children need to grow and develop to their optimum potential. The guidelines are not listed in order of importance and should be considered together as a package rather than in isolation. The Australian Dietary Guidelines for Children and Adolescents Encourage and support breastfeeding. Children and adolescents need sufficient nutritious foods to grow and develop normally. Growth should be checked regularly for young children. Physical activity is important for all children and adolescents. Enjoy a wide variety of nutritious foods. Children and adolescents should be encouraged to: eat plenty of vegetables, legumes and fruits eat plenty of cereals, (including breads, rice, pasta and noodles), preferably wholegrain include lean meat, fish, poultry and/or alternatives include milks, yoghurt, cheese and/or alternatives. Reduced fat milks are not suitable for young children under two years old, because of their energy needs, but reduced fat varieties should be encouraged for older children and adolescents choose water as a drink. and care should be taken to: limit saturated fat and moderate total fat intake. Low fat diets are not suitable for infants choose foods low in salt consume only moderate amounts of sugars and foods containing added sugars. Care for your child’s food: prepare and store it safely. Source: Food for Health: Dietary Guidelines for Children and Adolescents in Australia, National Health and Medical Research Council. 2 3
Food safety The Australian Dietary Guidelines now include a guideline about food safety in recognition of the importance of being vigilant when preparing and serving food. Schools, including the tuckshop, have a responsibility to maintain safe food-handling practices and high standards of hygiene. This is essential to avoid food poisoning and ensure students have access to high-quality, safe and suitable food. Many resources are available to assist in meeting safe food-handling requirements and are listed on pages 24–25. The Australian Guide to Healthy Eating The Australian Guide to Healthy Eating provides information about the amounts and kinds of food we need each day from the five basic food groups to obtain sufficient nutrients for good health and wellbeing and is consistent with the Australian Dietary Guidelines. The Australian Guide to Healthy Eating, Commonwealth Copyright 1998, is reproduced with permission of the Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing, 2005. The basic five food groups While the Australian Dietary Guidelines provide the general framework for how and what should be eaten, the AGTHE provides more specific advice regarding the number of serves needed from each of the basic five food groups. The AGTHE uses a plate model, divided into different sized segments, to indicate the proportions of food from each of the five food groups that we should be eating for good health. Foods are grouped together because they share a similar range of nutrients. Over three-quarters of food intake should come from three major food groups – the breads, cereals, rice, pasta and noodles group, the vegetables and legumes group, and the fruit group. Extra foods Some foods do not fit into the five food groups because they are not essential to provide the nutrients needed. They are regarded as ‘extra’ foods and include biscuits, cakes, desserts, pastries, soft drinks, high-fat snack items such as crisps, pies, pasties, sausage rolls and other takeaways, lollies and chocolates. Most of these foods are high in fat (particularly saturated fat), and/or salt and/or added sugar and for these reasons it is recommended their intake is limited. When eaten only occasionally or in small serves they can add variety to the diet without replacing the healthier foods needed each day. How many serves? The number of serves of different foods children and young people should eat on average each day depends on an individual’s body size and activity level. The table below provides a guide to the number of serves of each of the five food groups that children and young people should aim to eat each day. Very active children and young people may need more each day than shown in the table. Children can consume up to one-third of their daily nutritional intake at school. As many children regularly purchase food from school tuckshops, it is important that tuckshops provide a wide variety of foods from the five food groups and promote and model healthy food choices. What is a serve? Recommended number of daily serves for children and young people Example serves in the table on the following page define the amount of food that equals one serve within each food group. For example, two slices of bread or one medium bread roll is equivalent to one serve. Read the table below in conjunction with the table on the following page to work out how much food from each food group to aim for each day. 4–7 Years 8–11 Years 12–18 Years Cereals (including breads, rice, pasta, noodles) 5–7 6–9 5–11 Vegetables, legumes 2 3 4 Fruit 1 1 3 Milk, yoghurt, cheese 2 2 3 Lean meat, fish, poultry, nuts and legumes 1/2 1 1 Extra foods (have no more than) 1–2 1–2 1–3 Source: The Australian Guide to Healthy Eating, Commonwealth Department of Health and Family Services, 1998. 4 5
Page 1 and 2: smart CHOICES Healthy Food and Drin
Page 3: Contents Smart Choices 2 Background
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Page 11 and 12: Reading nutrition information panel
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Page 15 and 16: Resources Websites Education Queens

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